The Medical Safety of the Combined Usage of Disulfiram and MethadonePharmacological Treatment for Alcoholic Heroin Addicts

From the Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles (Drs Charuvastra, Blakis, and Ling), the Drug Treatment Service of the Brentwood Veterans Administration Hospital, Los Angeles (Dr Charuvastra, Ms Panell, Ms Erhmann, and Mr Hopper), and the Drug Treatment Program of the Sepulveda Veterans Administration Hospital, Calif (Drs Ling and Blakis).

• The results of hematology and blood chemistry tests were examined in eight methadone maintenance patients who had been treated concurrently for alcoholism with disulfiram (Antabuse). There were no apparent major differences between the results of tests run prior to the initiation of the disulfiram treatment and subsequent tests run up to 16 months after treatment was begun. There was a trend toward normalization of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) values. The results suggested no contraindications to this combined pharmacological treatment.